Rockford man suspected of 2 murders caught in Wisconsin

July 04, 2014|By Wes Venteicher | Tribune reporter

Terence Doddy (bottom center) is wanted in connection with the slayings of Tonya Bargman, 44, at the Willow Creek rest stop in Sterling, and the killing of Todd Hansmeier, 37, Monday in Rockford. Doddy is suspected of stealing Bargman's car, a 2013 Nissan Altima like that pictured above, which has an "Illini Nissan" sticker (inset). Police today released a surveillance photo (below left) of Doddy at a Rockford-area store, and other photos, including one of a type of tent (below right) Doddy is believed to own. (Illinois State Police / )

A Rockford man suspected of beating his friend to death and then killing a woman at a rest stop was arrested today in Wisconsin after a high-speed chase.

Terence Doddy, 36, was arrested about noon after he crashed into a tree in Rock County, Wis., following a chase that zigzagged along the border of Illinois and Wisconsin, said Winnebago County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chief of Detectives Dominic Iasparro.

Police say Doddy killed Todd Hansmeier, 37, an insurance salesman, Monday in a Rockford office building. Doddy is accused of beating Hansmeier to death and trying to burn his body.

He left Rockford and on Tuesday attacked and killed Tonya D. Bargman, 44, of Monticello, as she left a washroom at the Willow Creek rest stop on I-39, police said. Police reviewed surveillance video at the site to determine what happened. He then swapped his vehicle for Bargman's, a gray 2013 Nissan Altima with a personalized license plate that said BARGMN2.

Illinois State Police initiated a nationwide search for Doddy with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. During the search, police released a photo of him leaving a store near Rockford with several items in a shopping cart. The photo was from surveillance video.

An off-duty detective spotted him Thursday night but lost him. Doddy was spotted again this morning in South Beloit, Ill., where the chase began. After a chase at speeds above 100 mph that lasted about a half-hour, he crashed off of Highway 81 just west of Beloit, Wis. He was taken to a Rock County hospital for his injuries, Iasparro said.

No other vehicles were struck and no one was injured during the chase, police said.